Tennis and Heel Pain

Fighting heel pain that comes from the common condition known as plantar fasciitis begins with identifying the cause. The truth is individuals develop this condition for a variety of different reasons. Therefore, if you understand what is causing your heal pain, you can know how to best treat the pain. And if you are active and play a sport, there a good chance that your high impact activities may be causing your heel pain. This is often the case of many people that play tennis.

Tennis Athletes

It is normal for athletes that play tennis to suffer from heel pain. Given the unique nature of their sport, there are many factors that contribute to the development of plantar fasciitis among tennis athletes. Here are a few reasons that explain why a tennis player is at risk:

Biomechanical factors are common including decreased flexibility in the foot and/or ankle, one leg or foot is stronger than the other, abnormal foot mechanics when stepping, and tightness of the Achilles tendon.

The repetitive nature of tennis.

Improper training.

Lack of stretching.

Playing a high number of sets in a short amount of time.

Playing on a tennis court that is not very level.

Wearing shoes that are worn out or shoes that do not have enough arch support.

Changing the intensity and duration of the sport abruptly

Preventing Injury

From this information, it is clear that wearing the right shoes and training properly might allow tennis players to avoid heel pain. In addition, a proper tennis training schedule is necessary to ensure that the body is in decent shape. Also, it is vital that these athletes are not careless. Activities to stretch and warm up the body should not be neglected.

Treatment

Although efforts might be made to prevent heel pain, there are some tennis players that are simply susceptible to plantar fasciitis. In these instances, simply regimenting the workout is not enough. It is important for these athletes to add support to their shoes and supplement their stretching with specific stretching that focuses on the plantar fascia.